Category: Lawyers

Thor Halvorssen is not your typical activist. He does not spend his time creating hashtags for social media nor does he jockey for airtime on cable news. Halvorssen dedicates his time to fighting tyrants and dictators around the globe.

Halvorssen is president of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and has spent his adult life in the pursuit of freedom for citizens of repressive regimes. While many so-called activists are jetting from one news studio to the next, Halvorssen is physically confronting dictatorial governments.

In a recent trip to Vietnam to interview Thich Quang Do, the head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Halvorssen was arrested and detained. Quang Do had been under house arrest for over 28 years when Halvorssen went to see him.

Halvorssen is not a political animal the way so many activists are today. He opposes left-wing despots as much as he does right-wing ones. His opposition to Hugo Chavez could be seen as part of the family business. His father was jailed and tortured in a Venezuelan prison after he exposed corruption in the government. In addition, his mother was shot at an anti-Chavez rally. On top of that, his cousin is currently sitting in a Venezuelan jail as a political prisoner.

And while most of the social justice activists today are lining up to have their picture taken with celebrities, Halvorssen and HRF are exposing those same celebs who take millions are dollars to perform for dictators. In a much-publicized battle, Halvorssen pleaded with rapper Nicki Minaj to cancel her concert for Angolan dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Halvorssen describes himself as a “classic liberal” and only cares about promoting and protecting human rights around the globe. The political leanings of a dictator matter little to him. The work he and HRF do is what is important.

The Human Rights foundation was founded in 2005 and is based in New York City. Halvorssen guides the organization to promote democracy and to ensure that freedom is preserved throughout the world. Thore would-be activist would do well to emulate Halvorssen if they truly want to make a difference in the world and not just pad their resume and rub shoulders with celebrities.

Labaton Sucharow has been in the limelight of late for the achievements they have registered while pursuing cases of securities laws violations. The over five decades old law firm through their Whistleblower Representation Practice body has expressed happiness to the SEC reward that was handed to their client. The client had reported about violations in financial services industry and the information was first reviewed by Labaton Sucharow before he proceeded to the SEC for determination.

The Securities Exchange Commission has also expressed satisfaction in the effort the whistleblower made to expose wrong doings and they feel the compensation issued cannot equal the sanity injected into the industry following the developments.

Described as the second biggest margin payout since the SEC Whistleblower Program came into operation in 2010, the more than 17 million reward to the whistleblower has earned Labaton Sucharow a reputation for the dedication they have showed to ensure the client receives a deserving reward from the SEC.

The reward system used includes the payment of at least 10 percent of what is collected as sanction from the perpetrators and this time the amount was huge to guarantee the whistleblower a high margin.

Through the help of Labaton Sucharow, the whistleblower was able to prepare facts and verifiable information, which amounted to high-quality details that were all necessary for the case to proceed to completion. This is termed as a show of courage since the individuals mentioned in the heist are people with great influence in the industry. In fact, more other people knew about the violations but chose to keep quiet about it.

About the SEC Whistleblower Program

Established in 2010, the SEC Whistleblower Program is aligned to help whistleblowers present their cases without fear of intimidation or experiencing any barriers. To make it possible for more people to share information about violations, the program offers whistleblowers the ability to report anonymously to protect themselves from intimidation or victimization. There are also security measures that include protection against sacking or bullying when you report about your employer.

Labaton Sucharow

Incepted more than four decades ago, Labaton Sucharow is among recognized law firms in the U.S. that have gone into helping whistleblowers. They have a practice that works exclusively on the needs presented by whistleblower by assisting them to gather facts and to understand the legal side of reporting against securities violations. The firm has achieved tremendous success and one of their clients won the SEC Whistleblower award for sharing information that has helped to clean the financial services industry.